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"It is commonly believed in the literature on insurgency and counterinsurgency that to be effective in undermining civilian support for guerrillas, violence against noncombatants must be selective or risk alienating the population. Yet cases exist where governments have defeated insurgencies by wielding indiscriminate violence against noncombatants. This paper explores the conditions under which such violence can be effective through a case study of British counterinsurgency strategy in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)."

Findings from representative national surveys in Algeria and Jordan show that nei- ther religious orientations, judgments about Western culture, nor economic circum- stances account for variance in approval of terrorist acts against U.S. targets. Alternatively, in both countries, approval of terrorism against the United States is dis- proportionately likely among men and women with negative judgments about their own government and about U.S. foreign policy. Taken together, these findings sug- gest that approval of terrorism is fostered by negative attitudes toward actors consid- ered responsible for the political and economic status quo. Given that Algeria and Jordan have had different experiences with respect to terrorism and also differ in demographic, political, and economic structure, identical findings from these dis- similar countries suggest that the observed relationships are not country specific and may apply more generally.

By Brenda Shaffer, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1999–2007; Former Research Director, Caspian Studies Program, 2000–2005; Former Research Director, Caspian Studies Project, 2005–2007

Despite this extensive activity in the energy sphere, it seems, however, that Ankara's energy policy has been undertaken without a strategic plan and with little integration of energy issues into Turkey's overall foreign and security policies.

The year 2005 was a momentous, yet turbulent one for Egypt. The country witnessed two major elections, presidentialand parliamentary, a vibrant movement towards political reform,and a remarkable political mobility. All this came against a background of internal domestic pressures on the regime to expand the scope of pluralism,and amidst concerns that President Mubarak would run for office for a fifth term, thus ruling Egypt for 29 years.The increased interest of external actors, particularly the US and the EU, inpolitical reforms has also prompted the regime to introduce a series ofmeasures that allowed the country, for the first time since it became a republic, to have a multi-candidate presidential elections and a relativelymore contested legislative elections.

When Libya announced in December 2003 that it was abandoning its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs and settling the Pan Am flight 103 terrorism case, the United States government was quick to claim credit for bringing a "rogue state" to heel. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney argued that Libya was influenced by the U.S. use of force to topple regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Others claimed that diplomacy and economic incentives were more important than the threat of force. Who and what actually "won" Libya? Bruce Jentleson and Christopher Whytock offer a comprehensive analysis that reveals that deft diplomacy played a major role in changing Libyan policies.

By Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School

Today's violence and chaos in Cairo is a stark reminder of the complexities of political revolution in one of the most important countries in the Middle East, to say nothing of the tricky international diplomacy that surrounds it. On August 14, GlobalPost interviewed Professor Nicholas Burns about events in Egypt.

By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa

Cell phone use has grown faster in Africa than in any other region of the world since 2003....Of course, South Africa—the most developed nation—still has the highest penetration, but across Africa, countries have leapfrogged technology, bringing innovation and connectivity even to remote parts of the continent, opening up mobile banking and changing the way business is done.

"Nuclear proliferation is a crime that pays well. Those involved in the Khan network were made very wealthy for their efforts, and the inability of the international community to effectively punish them has resulted in a missed opportunity to provide a deterrent against future black-market salesmen."

By Jing Zhang and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa

China's Ministry of Science and Technology launched the China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership on November 24, 2009. The ministry announced that technological cooperation will be enhanced in areas such as water management and conservation, sanitation, crop breeding, health, and renewable energy. One hundred joint research partnerships will be created, and 100 African scientists at the postdoctoral level will have the opportunity to conduct research at China's technology parks, research institutes, and private enterprises. Chinese scientists and engineers will also travel to African countries to provide technical guidance, and in order to increase the research capacities of African countries, China will also donate laboratory equipment.

Science, Technology, and Globalization Project Director Calestous Juma shared his insights into the history and future of Sino-African relations in a February 2008 interview with that's China columnist Jing Zhang.

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Calestous Juma is Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project. He holds a Ph.D. in science and technology policy studies and has written widely on science, technology, and the environment.